Executive Order 13769

Executive Order 13769, known as "Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States", was an executive order signed by President of the United States Donald Trump on 27 January 2017, suspending the entry of nationals of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, and Libya into America regardless of non-diplomatic visa status. Syria was subjected to an indefinite travel ban, while the other countries were suspended for 90 days. Trump's signage of the the executive order had been anticipated since 7 December 2015, when he called for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States", claiming that Muslims posed a threat to the national security of the USA. Islamophobia and xenophobic sentiment had grown strong in America as a result of al-Qaeda's attacks in the 1990s and the 2000s and the rise of the Islamic State in 2014, and the executive order was supported by nativists and opposed by liberals, human rights activists, civil rights activists, Muslim Americans, and other people opposed to religious discrimination. While the order was unconstitutional under the Entitlement Clause of the First Amendment (which prohibits religious discrimination - Trump said that he would prioritize Christian refugees), Trump refused to stand down, and he fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates for refusing to implement the policy. Protests occurred at several major airports, and critics of the policy were quick to note that the home countries of the 19 9/11 hijackers (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, and the United Arab Emirates) were not on the list, as Trump had business with those countries. Reince Priebus announced that green card holders would be allowed to enter the country after the protests swayed his opinion, but many travelers were detained at airports.